I'm of a view that the profession of teaching must not be compared to other professions. In simple, it's plain illogical to expect a teacher have as many teaching hours as an office goer. The moment we demand a parity between the teaching hours of a teacher and an office worker, we instantly put at risk the quality of teaching. The quality of teaching can never be sacrificed for quantity (number of hours being taught) because quality better serves the interests of a child. Hence as parent you must not demand long work days for teachers.

That said, I also hold a view that unless a person is seriously interested in teaching, he/she shouldn't take teaching as a career. Because a reluctant teacher, how smart he/she may be, is always bad. A bad teacher neither brings quality nor quantity.

A person not interested in teaching brings one more malice to the teaching profession. He/she brings in dereliction of duty. Because the teacher's heart is not in teaching itself, hence he remains absent from duty. Or teaches half-heartedly. Such dereliction of duty must not be tolerated. 

The above thoughts came to my mind when I read a Newspaper report about two permanent teachers posted in a remote Baadav Junior High School in Agastyamuni, Rudraprayag. These two had contracted their teaching jobs to someone else and used to remain absent from their work.

This is not only a disrespect to one's profession, it's also a disrespect to honesty. A person who draws salary for no work must need to introspect.

----